Ask Slashdot: "Real" Computer Scientists vs. Modern Curriculum?

An anonymous reader writes At work yesterday, I overheard a programmer explaining his perception of the quality of the most recent CS grads. In his opinion, CS students who primarily learn Java are inferior because they don't have to deal with memory management as they would if they used C. As a current CS student who's pursing a degree after 10 years of experience in the IT field, I have two questions for my fellow Slashdoters: "Is this a common concern with new CS grads?" and, if so, "What can I do to supplement my Java-oriented studies?"

Beards and suspenders.

[Kenja]

Difference is the "real" ones have beards and wear suspenders.

Real Programmers don't use GC

[ehack]

"Real Programmers don't use GC" is a mantra that is responsible for 90% at least of production bugs, together with "=" being typed instead of "==".

Re:Beards and suspenders.

[ThatsDrDangerToYou]

Difference is the "real" ones have beards and wear suspenders.

Kids these days with their "showers" and "grooming" and "social media" and whatnot... Where's the *science*?

Re:Why do CS grads become lowly programmers?

[ThatsDrDangerToYou]

95% of CS grads spend their carrier banging out boring code. Accept it.

"no carrier"

Oh, for...

[jeffb (2.718)]

Well, in MY opinion, CS students who learned in C or C++ or Pascal or PL/1 are inferior because they use the stack as a crutch, instead of manually keeping track of callback history. If you don't have to write explicit code to keep track of every call, or allocate every local variable, your code will... well, actually, it'll likely be easier to read, easier to maintain, and easier to optimize. But it won't be as good as the code we had to write back in my day.

Re:Why do CS grads become lowly programmers?

[Joe Gillian]

I definitely would not ask a scientist to build an engineer, especially a software engineer. That's how you get Frankenstein's monster.

Re: Real Programmers don't use GC

[samkass]

Fortunately JavaScript solved that. These days, programmers type == instead of ===! Progress!

Re:Why do CS grads become lowly programmers?

[idontgno]

I'll betcha a current CS grad wrote the auto-correct logic that did that.

Case... fucking...closed.

Re:wow great

[mrvan]

Wow could you please not downvote me please thanks? That's really rude.

Why don't you impose a $500 fine?

Re:Beards and suspenders.

[Anonymous Coward]

Write code to count the '1' bits in an unsigned int -- no googling the answer!

Meh. That's easy...

public static void main(String[] a)
{
        int x = 0;

        for(char c : Integer.toBinaryString(847389).toCharArray())
                if (c == '1')
                        x++;

        System.out.println(x);
}

-- and then keep brainstorming for ways to optimize that

I'm sure there's already a framework for that somewhere.

Re:Beards and suspenders.

[PopeRatzo]

Except when it is the operand of the sizeof operator or the unary & operator, or is a string literal used to initialize an array, an expression that has type ‘‘array of type’’ is converted to an expression with type ‘‘pointer to type’’ that points to the initial element of the array object and is not an lvalue. If the array object has register storage class, the behavior is undefined.

I love it when you talk dirty.

Re:Why do CS grads become lowly programmers?

[wiredlogic]

Software "engineering" can't be considered real engineering until it can produce work output that has the same level of reliability as a properly engineered bridge using repeatable, proven processes. Until then it has as much relation to engineering as a certification mill.

Re:Why do CS grads become lowly programmers?

[faedle]

I've spent some time doing "computer science".

Computer science IS boring. It's a lot of math and logic and tedium. Once you've gone over Turing's proofs, you either go into Cognitive Science or go full Math Retard (I did the latter) and become one of those boring researchers on campus nobody talks to.

Re:Beards and suspenders.

[Anonymous Coward]

Most students I've talked to recently took one semester of "C programming", but just did the sorts of things in C they already knew how to do in Java (except awkwardly in C), and didn't understand the pointers of the class (and perhaps the class was pointerless)

There, fixed that for you.

Re:Real Programmers don't use GC

[GiganticLyingMouth]

"If Java had true garbage collection, most programs would delete themselves upon execution"

– Robert Sewell

Keeeeerhiiist I want to laugh at this...

[Xaedalus]

but gawddamn, if I meet ONE more unshaven skinny ratty-haired white dev/programmer in his late twenties/early thirties with an aversion to water, soap, matching colors and food (what is it with devs and eating disorders???) here in Seattle, I might just have to defenestrate the fucker to save my sanity. Preferably out an upper window at the downtown Macy's, so that said dev/programmer might actually observe cleanliness and fashion through visual osmosis prior to becoming one with pavement. I don't care if said beautiful mind is autistic, aspie, or what-not--Hygiene is source code!!!!!! Execute it on a daily basis! And if the sensory stimulus is THAT much of an overload then spend some of your six figure salary to get therapy and coaching on how to minimize input while maximizing the ability to incorporate the close proximity of other people!!! I much prefer the Indian and Chinese devs and programmers, not least because they don't have eating disorders and they both understand and practice a minimal standard of hygiene.